As I write this column, Roman Catholic cardinals from around the globe are assembling in the Vatican to begin the process of selecting a new Pope. There is no shortage of commentary on that intricate process. On a daily basis we’ve been treated to reports on  the security measures undertaken [...]

A Purim joke: The first Jewish President of the United States has been inaugurated, and the first Jewish holiday that follows is Purim. So he calls up his mother to invite her to the White House for Purim. Their conversation goes something like this: President:   “Mom, with Purim being the [...]

As I look toward the end of January and the nation’s commemoration of the birth of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I am recalling an essay that I have been chewing upon ever since I read it a few months ago. It’s author is Former Prime Minister of [...]

Pundits and politicians of every stripe are still engaged in their post-election post mortem. What is abundantly clear, regardless of whether one awakened on the morning of November 7th elated or deflated, is that our nation faces daunting challenges that will require unprecedented collaborative efforts to solve. But one message [...]

A Request Ursula Le Guin [From Finding My Elegy: New and Selected Poems 1960-2010. © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012.] Should my tongue be tied by stroke listen to me as if I spoke and said to you, "My dear, my friend, stay here a while and take my hand; my [...]

Thanks to our member, Art Lash, for these photos from our Simchat Torah celebration on October 7th. Our feet, and spirits, were flying!